Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey

Personal information
Full name	Clinton Drew Dempsey
Date of birth	March 9, 1983 (1983-03-09) (age 27)
Place of birth	Nacogdoches, Texas, United States
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Winger, Forward
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	23
Youth career
	Dallas Texans
2001–2003	Furman Paladins
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2007	New England Revolution	71	(25)
2007–	Fulham	112	(21)
National team‡
2004–	United States	66	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:42, 12 May 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 June 2010

Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey (born March 9, 1983), nicknamed "Deuce"^[1], is an American soccer player who currently plays for English Premier League club Fulham and for the United States national team. A versatile attacking player known for his ball skills, he can be used on either wing or as a striker.

He is the second American to score goals in two different FIFA World Cup finals tournaments, in 2006 and 2010.

Youth

Dempsey was born in Texas and, for much of his childhood, his family lived in a trailer park, where he and his siblings grew up playing soccer with the local children.

His older brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, one of America's elite youth soccer clubs, but young Clint, who had come along, was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines.^[2] Dempsey became a standout on the team at an early age, but had to quit due to his family's time and money constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player.^[3] But several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club. He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with MVP in the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament. He was offered a place in the youth Arsenal team but because cousin Arya Ashtari was severely ill, he had to move on from the Arsenal academy. Always getting straight A's and doing his work, Dempsey was on his way. Dempsey studied the play of Argentina, especially Diego Maradona. Clint was heartbroken when the news came to Nacogdoches that Maradona would not be playing in the 1994 FIFA World Cup game played in the Cotton Bowl.^[4] He attended Furman University as a health and exercise major and a key player for the Paladins. In his three seasons at Furman, Dempsey started 61 out of 62 games in central midfield and scored 17 goals.

Club career

New England Revolution

Fulham

Dempsey playing playing for Fulham in 2007

In December 2006, Fulham offered MLS a $4 million transfer fee for Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player.^[5][6] The league agreed to the transfer; however, Dempsey still needed to receive a work permit from the United Kingdom Home Office. On January 10, 2007, the Home Office granted Dempsey the work permit, thus allowing him to play in England.^[7]

Dempsey made his first appearance for Fulham shortly thereafter, coming on as a late substitute in Fulham's match against Tottenham Hotspur on January 20, 2007.^[8] However, for the remainder of the spring of 2007 Dempsey was used only sparingly by a relegation-threatened Fulham. On May 5, 2007, Dempsey scored his first and only goal of the 2006–07 season for Fulham after coming on as a 54th minute substitute against Liverpool, in a vital match which Fulham won 1–0. The goal ensured Fulham's top flight status for the 2007–08 season.^[9][10]

Dempsey was a key part of the starting squad for Fulham during the 2007–08 Premier League season. His six goals, all scored in the Premier League, made him Fulham's top scorer in league play and tied for the club lead in all competitions. In May 2008, Dempsey received an automatic contract extension from Fulham that would have kept him at the club through 2010.^[11]

Dempsey scored his first goal on the 2008–2009 campaign on October 26, 2008, against Portsmouth. Coming on as a 70th-minute sub, Dempsey volleyed home an Erik Nevland cross past David James to tie the game at 1–1. On December 28, 2008, Dempsey started in the SW6 Derby against Chelsea and scored both goals for Fulham, one a chest and flick past Petr Čech that put Fulham ahead, and the other an 89th-minute equalizing header off a Simon Davies corner.^[12] On April 12, 2009, Dempsey was voted Man of the Match in a 3–1 win over Manchester City at Eastlands, in which he scored two goals.^[13]

2009-10 season

On August 13, 2009, Dempsey signed a contract extension to remain with Fulham through 2013.^[14] On August 20, he scored his first goal in European competition, in the newly formed Europa League, netting Fulham's second goal in a 3–1 win against Amkar Perm in the play-off round.^[15] On December 30, La Gazzetta dello Sport named Dempsey as one of the top eleven Premier League players of the season.^[16] On January 17, 2010, Dempsey suffered a suspected cruciate knee ligament injury in a 2–0 away defeat to Blackburn Rovers.^[17] On March 11, Dempsey returned, coming on in the last minute of Fulham's loss away to Juventus and then completed 72 minutes of their away loss to Manchester United in the league.^[18] On March 18, Dempsey came off the bench against Juventus in their second leg last 16 tie in the Europa League and scored the winner on a long chip shot.^[19] The Guardian suggested that the goal "might become the most famous goal in Fulham's history".^[20] On May 12, Dempsey replaced Bobby Zamora in the 55th minute of the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, thus making history in becoming the first ever American to appear in a major European final. In the end, Fulham lost the match, as Atlético Madrid's Diego Forlán scored in the 116th minute of extra time, giving Atlético a 2-1 win.^[21] His performances throughout 2009–10 earned him the designation of Most Valuable Player among Americans in Europe by SoccerOverThere.com, among other sources.^[22].

International career

Dempsey first played for the American national team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He made his first appearance with the senior team on November 17, 2004 against Jamaica. He currently has 66 caps with the senior team and has recorded 19 goals, having established himself as a first-choice player when healthy. He has frequently lined up as a striker due to his scoring threat and aerial ability, but his preferred and more normal role is on the wing. He won the highest individual honor in American soccer when he was named Honda Player of the Year for 2006, beating Fulham teammates Kasey Keller and Brian McBride in a poll of sportswriters. Dempsey received 237 points in voting by 207 sports journalists to claim the award.

On May 2, 2006, Dempsey was named to the U.S. roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany. He became the only American player to score a goal in the tournament^[23] with his equalizing goal in the Americans' eventual 2–1 loss to Ghana.

In the United States' opening 2010 World Cup qualifier, Dempsey recorded the fastest goal in U.S. qualifying history with a chest trap and sliding shot 53 seconds into a 8–0 defeat of Barbados. But thereafter, Dempsey experienced a dip in form leading some to doubt his first-choice status with the national team. However, Dempsey turned his fortunes around in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the final group stage match against Egypt, Dempsey scored a trademark diving header off a Jonathan Spector cross, making the final result 3–0. This, combined with Brazil's 3–0 victory against Italy in the other group match that was being played simultaneously, put the U.S. through to the semifinals.^[24] In the semi-final match against Spain, Dempsey scored to put the USA up 2–0 to send them to the finals. He was named the Man of the Match for his performance.^[25] Dempsey scored in his third straight game in the Confederations Cup Final against Brazil, redirecting a similar cross from Spector in the 10th minute to open the scoring.^[26] Following the loss, he was awarded the Bronze Ball as the tournament's 3rd best performer.^[27][28] He ended the World Cup qualifying campaign tied with Landon Donovan as the team's 2nd top scorer, behind Jozy Altidore, with five goals in thirteen matches.

On June 12, 2010, Dempsey became the second American (after Brian McBride) to score in more than one World Cup when he scored the equalizer goal against England in the Americans' first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup after the English goalkeeper Robert Green made a major error.^[29]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2005-05-28	Chicago, Illinois	England	1–2	1–2	Friendly match
2	2005-07-07	Seattle, Washington	Cuba	1–1	4–1	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3	2006-02-10	San Francisco, California	Japan	2–0	3–2	Friendly match
4	2006-03-01	Kaiserslautern, Germany	Poland	1–0	1–0	Friendly match
5	2006-05-26	Cleveland, Ohio	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	Friendly match
6	2006-06-22	Nuremberg, Germany	Ghana	1–1	1–2	2006 FIFA World Cup
7	2007-06-02	San Jose, California	China PR	3–1	4–1	Friendly match
8	2007-06-07	Carson, California	Guatemala	1–0	1–0	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9	2007-09-08	Chicago, Illinois	Brazil	2–2	2–4	Friendly match
10	2008-06-15	Carson, California	Barbados	1–0	8–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11				5–0
12	2008-09-06	Havana, Cuba	Cuba	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
13	2008-09-10	Bridgeview, Illinois	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
14	2009-06-21	Rustenburg, South Africa	Egypt	3–0	3–0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
15	2009-06-24	Bloemfontein, South Africa	Spain	2–0	2–0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
16	2009-06-28	Johannesburg, South Africa	Brazil	1–0	2–3	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
17	2009-09-05	Sandy, Utah	El Salvador	1–1	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
18	2010-05-30	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Turkey	2–1	2–1	Friendly match
19	2010-06-12	Rustenburg, South Africa	England	1–1	1–1	2010 FIFA World Cup

Playing style

Known for his toughness, Dempsey played two games with a broken jaw in 2004 before the team trainer diagnosed it, and upon his return, he played through the pain of a sprained ankle. Despite usually playing in wide positions, he frequently scores close-range goals and has scored repeatedly with diving headers in crowded situations. His tenacity in midfield combined with his audacious dribbling skills frequently results in opponents fouling him, and Dempsey has gained a reputation for fierce play. He was suspended by the New England Revolution for two weeks in March 2006 for a fist fight with teammate Joe Franchino during a practice game^[30] and was twice suspended by MLS during the 2006 season for violent conduct against opponents, including an elbow that broke the jaw of national teammate Jimmy Conrad. In a similar incident with Fulham in 2007, Dempsey broke the cheekbone of Chelsea defender John Terry in an aerial challenge but was not penalized.^[31]

Dempsey is a versatile attacking midfielder normally played on the left or right for Fulham and the United States. However, he has proven to be more of a threat the closer to goal he gets. His goals against Egypt and Spain in the Confederations Cup came almost immediately after being moved to forward by a substitution from Bob Bradley.^[32]

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 25 August 2010

(* FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield)

Honors

International

• CONCACAF Gold Cup (2): 2005, 2007

Individual

• MLS Rookie of the Year Award: 2004
• Honda Player of the Year: 2006
• MLS Best XI: 2005, 2006
• U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 2007
• FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2009

Music

One of Dempsey's passions outside of soccer is hip hop music. Using the alias "Deuce," he, along with fellow Texas rappers XO and the late Houston rapper Big Hawk from the Screwed Up Click, are featured rapping the song "Don't Tread" in a Nike football advertising campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with the intention to showcase both the sport's working-class roots and the United States team ahead of the World Cup.^[33] The song's video is dedicated to his sister Jennifer, who, at age sixteen, was suddenly struck with a fatal brain aneurysm. At Dempsey's request, the video ends with a shot of him placing a flower at her grave.^[3]

Personal life

Dempsey is married to Bethany Dempsey and they have a young daughter named Elyse and expecting a little boy in 2010.

References

External links

• Clint Dempsey career stats at Soccerbase
• Current Clint Dempsey News at followUSsoccer.com
• Official Fulham FC profile of Clint Dempsey
• Clint Dempsey articles on Yanks Abroad
• Profile and Stats of Clint Dempsey at Footbalistic
• Clint Dempsey's career timeline and detailed statistics
• La palombella rossa di Clint Dempsey (La Stampa, Andrea Scanzi, Italy, 19th of March 2010)

United States squad United States squad – 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (3rd title) 1 Hahnemann • 2 Hejduk • 3 Vanney • 4 Onyewu • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Quaranta • 10 Donovan • 11 Casey • 12 Conrad • 13 Noonan • 14 Armas • 15 Olsen • 16 Wolff • 18 Keller • 19 Ralston • 21 Davis • 22 Sanneh • 23 Pope • 24 Reis • 25 Mastroeni • Coach: Arena United States squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Albright • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Reyna (c) • 11 Ching • 12 Berhalter • 13 Conrad • 14 Olsen • 15 Convey • 16 Wolff • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Hahnemann • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Onyewu • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena United States squad – 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (4th Title) 1 Howard • 2 Hejduk • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 Feilhaber • 6 M. Bradley • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Donovan • 11 Ching • 12 DeMerit • 13 Bornstein • 14 Ralston • 15 Simek • 16 Parkhurst • 17 Spector • 18 Keller • 19 Clark • 20 Twellman • 21 Mapp • 22 Onyewu • 23 Guzan • Coach: B. Bradley United States squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-Up 1 Howard • 2 Bornstein • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Casey • 5 Onyewu • 6 Pearce • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Davies • 10 Donovan • 11 Wynne • 12 M. Bradley • 13 Clark • 14 Califf • 15 DeMerit • 16 Kljestan • 17 Altidore • 18 Guzan • 19 Adu • 20 Torres • 21 Spector • 22 Feilhaber • 23 Robles • Coach: B. Bradley United States squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Spector • 3 Bocanegra (c) • 4 M. Bradley • 5 Onyewu • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Gomez • 10 Donovan • 11 Holden • 12 Bornstein • 13 Clark • 14 Buddle • 15 DeMerit • 16 Torres • 17 Altidore • 18 Guzan • 19 Edu • 20 Findley • 21 Goodson • 22 Feilhaber • 23 Hahnemann • Coach: B. Bradley